Meet the Class of '06

Four reps, fresh off of victory, talk about their plans for Washington

November 20, 2006

It's a little more than a week after Election Day, and the precriminations have turned into recriminations in Punditland. The Democrats won because of the moderate candidates they fielded; the Republicans lost because they were driving drunk on 12 years of power; the voters were sick of Bush's inability to talk straight; and, of course: Iraq, Iraq, Iraq. But what of the actual members of the congressional Class of 2006 What did they think about the election And what are they like as people Are their legislative priorities sound ones Do they believe grown men should be using emoticons in correspondence with teenage boys Inquiring minds, ya know. So we sent out a list of similar questions—some personal, some professional, some wildly inappropriate—to a handful of last Tuesday's biggest winners. This is what they had to say for themselves.

Senator-Elect Claire McCaskill [D-MO]

Locked in a very tight, very bitter race with Senator Jim Talent [R-MO] for months, Claire McCaskill, with a slight hat-tip from Michael J. Fox, pulled away at the end for a 50-47 victory. Here, she talks about her love for Rush Limbaugh and how important it is for her fellow Democrats to realize that they're ruling without a mandate.

How much did you end up sleeping during the final week of the campaign

Well, not much. In fact, I pulled my first all-nighter since childbirth. We decided to do what turned out to be a 36-hour campaign effort. I wanted to meet some nightshift workers, so the Friday before the election, we started at six in the morning, and we didn't stop until six o'clock Saturday evening.

What did you do that night

We went to an automobile plant and to diners and all-night pharmacies, fire stations, waffle houses—all the places where people have to work around the clock. Normally, politicians only shake hands when the sun is shining, but, really, the people who work the nightshift are what my campaign's about—the middle-class, working people who are figuring out a way to make it work. And this Administration has been kicking those folks to the curb, so I thought it would be a good symbolic gesture to spend some time with them.

If you could ensure the passage of one piece of legislation in your first year of office, what would it be

[10 full seconds of silence] That's really hard because there's so much I'd like to get done. Picking just one is hard. Still, I think ethics reform is darn important because everything stems from that. If we don't clean the place up, the American people are going to lose confidence in Washington as a place where it's possible to do good work. And to do that, we need to have an independent ethics review board. We're never going to do a good job of patrolling one another.

What issue that has escaped congressional inquiry over the last six years would you most like to sic congressional investigators on

That's easy: war profiteering. I talked a lot about that during the campaign. I'm taking Harry Truman's Senate seat, and he, in a very brave and courageous fashion, ferreted out war profiteering in World War II, under a Democratic president, and in a Democratic Congress. Clearly, there is some obscene war profiteering that has gone on in Iraq, and as an auditor and former prosecutor, I would like to get to the bottom of it.

What did you find to be the most distasteful campaign ad or tactic employed during this election cycle

I don't know where to begin. Clearly, there was a nationwide strategy by the Republican Party to do personal character attacks against Democratic challengers, and my state was no different. They did some horrible ads about my family. Very personal. Probably, though, I'd have to choose the ad approved of by Senator Talent where they actually used the words Claire McCaskill is "a liar" and "a cheat." That probably was my least favorite.

Which sitting Members would you most like to seek out as mentors

I think Senator Lindsey Graham [R-SC] has done a very good job turning an independent course. I don't agree with him on everything, but I've admired his willingness to step out into the breach and disagree with members of his own party when his principles dictate it.

Karl Rove has worn the "genius" tag for some time now. Do you think that it's still appropriate to call him one after these elections

There are a lot of things I would call Karl Rove. I don't think genius is one of them.

Can you give me one

Well, our democracy should be one that appeals to the best of us instead of to the lowest common denominator. And I think his politics are all about the lowest common denominator and appealing to people's fears and the negative parts in all of us. The success that that kind of politics has is short-lived, and I think damaging to our democracy.

If you could describe Rush Limbaugh in three words, what would they be

Oh, I don't want to poke this bear. His brother is an old law school friend of mine, and I don't think it's worth it to rail on him. But I would say this: I'm grateful to him because his reaction to the Michael J. Fox ad proved to be our most effective fundraising effort. We raised a lot of money after he reacted the way he did, so I owe him a debt of gratitude.

Fifty words or less: What do we do in Iraq

I think we're going to get some sound policy alternatives from Secretary [James] Baker's committee. I think we'll look at their work and press this administration to change policy to, probably, a contained redeployment where our military can get back to having the flexibility we need to respond to problems around the world. We need to realize that we're never going to build democracy at the barrel of a gun.

Were you heartened by Secretary Rumsfeld's resignation

Yeah, I thought it was fine. I was disappointed because clearly the timing of the decision dripped of politics. Clearly his resignation was steeped in political timing, and that's what people in America are really tired of. He had not done a good job, every bit of advice he'd given the president was wrong, and he should've been removed a long time ago instead of waiting until the day after the election.

What was your immediate gut reaction to John Kerry's "botched joke"

It's probably better to botch a joke than botch a war.

Election Night is one of the most intense of the year even if you're just a schmo like me. But you were caught up—along with Jim Webb in Virginia and Jon Tester in Montana—right in the middle of the fight for control of the Senate. What was it like watching the returns, knowing what was at stake and that so much hinged on your winning

I knew that we had done what we needed to do in some of the rural areas, so I was very optimistic early. We were just waiting for St. Louis to come in, but I wasn't going to declare victory until I'd seen those returns. When they finally did, around one o'clock, I was obviously elated. At that point, we had known that Webb was up by the slimmest of margins, and I had talked to people earlier in the day who were expressing extreme confidence that Tester was going to pull it out. Oh, I was thrilled. Having said that, I want to make sure that when I go to Washington, I try to convince my Democratic colleagues that this is no time for high-fives. This is a time for realizing that we have a divided country. We did not receive a mandate. We're there by the slimmest of margins, and we need to be respectful of that. We need to get to work, and through serious bipartisanship, we can get some problems solved.

What would you have done on Wednesday had you lost

Probably the same thing I did winning: sleep. But I probably would've had two or three more glasses of wine first.

Congressman-Elect Tim Mahoney [D-FL]

Tim Mahoney won the House seat previously occupied by Mark Foley. And for a newly elected Democrat in a strongly Republican district, he's talking tough.

If you could ensure the passage of one piece of legislation in your first year of office, what would it be

Ethics reform. Part of the problem we have in Washington is that it's all about holding onto power. It's about inappropriate use of earmarks, and people trying to buy influence through trips and lunches. What the Republican Congress has done over the last six years has caused people to lose confidence that they can trust their elected officials in Washington.

But even though you always hear politicians talk about the need for ethics reform, they never act on it because, ultimately, the system in place now can benefit members of both parties.

I don't want to have to face reelection and have nothing happen. I'm very happy that future Speaker Pelosi in her first address after the election said that in the first 100 hours, she intends to create some ethics reform. Everyone's on target. Everyone understands this is a major problem. And I understand better than anybody because of the Foley scandal. What's clear is that the Republican leadership was more interested in holding onto political power than they were in protecting the pages. Mark's problems are Mark's problems, and he'll have to deal with that individually…

But you believe there was a cover-up to save a safe seat

Exactly.

What did you find to be the most distasteful campaign ad or tactic employed during this election cycle

The Republican National Committee basically spent $2 million saying that I was a crook. So, other than that… I can't think of anything else. It's a shame because they lie about who you are. There's no integrity in that kind of attack. You heard the president [at his press conference] Wednesday, and you can see it starts at the top. He was talking about how the Democrats are committed to national security, and then somebody said, "That's not what you were saying two days ago." And Bush says, "Well, that's the campaign." That kind of attitude fosters these sorts of attacks. He's directly responsible.

Karl Rove has worn the "genius" tag for some time now. Do you think that it's still appropriate to call him that after these elections

Rove has won some elections, but he has also set the country way back. He's been a net negative for America. His whole strategy is to be mean and to lie and to create fear. He is a disgrace to this country.

Which sitting Members would you most like to seek out as mentors

Rahm Emanuel [D-IL] has been a huge help to me. He's at the top of the list. Same with Steny Hoyer [D-MD] and Speaker Pelosi. Artur Davis [D-AL] was key. Steve Israel [D-NY] is another guy who's been there all along. Jane Harman [D-CA]. They are very bright, powerful people—and I mean powerful in the sense that they are powerful in their beliefs and commitment to their country.

How about on the other side of the aisle

Uh, you know. [pause] I think I'm disappointed… The role of Congress is oversight, and even though the president is the leader of your party, the Constitution is more important than party politics. I'd like to think that if there were a Democratic president, that while I'd respect him as the leader of my party, I'd still make sure I was doing my constitutional duty of providing oversight to the ecutive branch.

What was your immediate gut reaction to John Kerry's "botched joke"

Not now, John.

Fifty words or less: What the hell do we do in Iraq

Diplomacy. This president needs to do what his dad did. He needs to go back into the region, sit down with all the countries that have a stake in it, and get a multinational force together. Get the American troops out, put the multinational force in—and lead. This president has to use the power of America.

The timing of Rumsfeld's resignation was funky, wasn't it A lot of Republicans would've preferred it having happened a couple of months ago, instead of the day after the "thumpin'."

It's almost incomprehensible. Had he gotten rid of him two months before, a month before, Bush could've gotten started on implementing a new strategy built around diplomacy—and he probably would've seen America get behind him, too. The fact that he didn't means that he's been totally isolated and out of touch with political reality, and it took the election to jolt him.

You're taking over the seat held by Mark Foley.

I don't use instant message.

I haven't even asked a question yet! But now that you bring it up: Do you have official policy positions, one, on emoticons; and, two, at what age a man should stop using them

I don't know what emoticons are. Is it a dirty word

Do you know what LOL means

That's happy, right That's smile. My daughter sends it to me every once in a while.

If you had a choice between LOL and ROTFL, which would you prefer

I guess the LOL. I don't know what the difference is.

What would you have done on Wednesday had you lost

I would've slept in, and I would've gone out and played some golf.

Where

At my club, PGA National.

What's your handicap

Oh, pretty bad. Not quite my age.

Congressman-Elect Chris Carney [D-PA]

Chris Carney is a heavily be-medaled Navy officer and former Pentagon senior adviser whose résumé and strong opinions about how the war has been handled (poorly) have ingratiated him to voters in his rural Pennsylvanian district. In fairness, though, it also helped that his opponent, Don Sherwood, who didn't even face an opponent in 2004, allegedly strangled his mistress during what he claims was just an intense back rub.

Obviously, your opponent's back rub gone awry was an embarrassment to his campaign, and a huge boon to yours. Perhaps his situation is different, but do you generally feel as if we give too much weight to personal scandals like this when deciding whom to vote for

In some cases, yes, but Mr. Sherwood ran on this values issue every time he ran. And in the meantime, he was having a five-year affair that basically started right after he got down to Washington. It's very interesting, my wife and I were talking about this a few weeks ago, and she said, "You know, five years is not a mistake"—which is what he said it was in a commercial apologizing for the affair—"five years is a commitment." And she's right! Those are not the values of the 10th district, certainly. And this is not a partisan thing—people just don't put up with that kind of hypocrisy.

What did you find to be the most distasteful campaign ad or tactic employed this election cycle

The robo-calls that were made at, for example, two o'clock in the morning on the day of the election. They call you up and say "vote for Chris Carney"—and the National Republican Congressional Committee apparently did that in tight races across the country. It's just despicable and smacks of how desperate they were to hold on to power.

If you could ensure the passage of one piece of legislation in your first year in office, what would it be

The minimum wage increase. We need to start helping the middle class and working families.

And raising the minimum wage is the best way to help middle-class families

Well, that's one of the ways to do it. We also need to provide access to education, student loan programs, grants, and aid. Of course, health care is very critical, and one of my priorities when I'm in Congress will be trying to find ways to reduce the cost of health care for working families. It's just an absolute crusher.

What issue that has escaped congressional inquiry over the last six years would you most like to sic congressional investigators on

War profiteering. It really bothers me that in my district, which has a fairly low mean income, people struggle everyday to make ends meet, and tens of billions of dollars have gone unaccounted for in Iraq. That's just horrible, and I'd like to know where that money went.

Which sitting Members would you most like to seek out as mentors

Jack Murtha [D-PA] is one. On the Senate side, Joe Biden [D-DE] is another. Their strong national security stances are important to me.

Do you think it's still appropriate to hail Karl Rove as a genius

Yes, he certainly got the vote out for us. He did a great job getting Republicans to come out and vote for me.

Do you have a strong, visceral reaction to political attacks on the service of people like you, people with extensive military backgrounds

I do, certainly. It's a situation where if you want to politicize or even impugn someone's service to their nation, that's unconscionable. It smacks of desperation. And it proves that they are not the strong party on national security if they're willing to politically impugn their opponents who did serve and were in combat zones. It's incredible that they'd stoop to such measures.

So how do Democrats prove that they're reliable on national security issues That they have a vision more compelling than, 'Hey, we weren't the ones who mucked this up so badly in the first place' "

By electing guys like me, who have experience on these issues, who've been there, who know the questions to ask of the Administration. This Congress, the 109th and 108th, really gave up their oversight roles and their accountability roles and just let the president get away with whatever. They rubber-stamped it, and that's not going to happen in the 110th Congress. I promise you that.

And, by the way, those in uniform will appreciate the fact that Congress has their back. They will appreciate the fact that we will not be going to war unprepared, underequipped, without a plan, and without an exit strategy.

I think it's very interesting that just before the resignation, the Military Times newspapers all called for his resignation. It did speak to the level of support that Secretary Rumsfeld had.

Fifty words or less: What the hell do we do in Iraq

We absolutely must focus on training the Iraqis to take care of their own security—and for every fully trained Iraqi battalion, an American battalion comes home.

Does that mean that we have to send more troops in the short-term

It means sending the right troops, the troops who do the training. The sad fact is that we haven't always sent trainers to do the training. Just ordinary rank-and-file soldiers have been doing the training. And God bless 'em, they're doing a very difficult job under very difficult circumstances. But we need true military trainers to do the training.

What was your immediate reaction to John Kerry's "botched joke"

I was appalled. I was angered. As a service member—as someone who's still in, by the way—I couldn't believe he would say something so stupid. Even in jest. I'm still, frankly, kinda cheesed off at him.

The flat-topped Tester morphed from obscure state senator to Democratic Party hero virtually overnight—and all he had to do was clip Abramoff crony Conrad Burns in the closest senatorial race in the country. But, really, he'd rather be farming.

What do we do about Iran and North Korea Do we start talking with these people Mobilize

Iran has at least signed a nuclear non-proliferation treaty, and you absolutely have to talk to them. If you take a look at what has transpired in this world since 2003 in particular, we haven't really done what's necessary to try and stop these folks, or at least talk to them or put the political pressure on them from an international standpoint to get 'em to stop. We should be talking and applying as much diplomatic pressure as possible and working with our allies. Nuclear weapons don't satisfy anybody; it doesn't do anybody any good, including the countries that develop them.

If the talk doesn't produce the option you want, would you leave the option of mobilizing on the table

I think you've got to apply the pressure. Mobilization of troops in Iran is always an option, but it's a last option.

Fifty words or less: What do we do in Iraq

We have to work together—Democrats and Republicans, the legislative and ecutive branches—to come up with a plan that works for this country and works for the Middle East and get our troops home as soon as possible. You have to have a plan, and that plan would probably have a timetable in it. The problem with Iraq right now is that there's no plan, there's no end to it. People don't see an end to what's going on over there, and they don't see much success. The people I've talked to don't know what even constitutes a win. If you're not working across the aisle and between branches, I don't know what's going to happen. There's also got to be a desire to do something different than what we're doing.

If you could ensure the passage on one piece of legislation in your first year in office, what would it be

Health care and affordability of health care. I'm interested in policies by which we could make health care more affordable for average working folks and small businesses. It truly is an affordability issue. It doesn't matter if you're rich or poor or work in agriculture or own a small business. It's an issue that impacts everybody.

A problem with that, though, is that you always hear how it's a politically infeasible thing to do, what with the insurance companies and all…

Everybody also always talks about working together, which is important. And this one won't be solved unless we do.

What issue that has escaped congressional inquiry over the last six years would you most like to sic congressional investigators on

The no-bid contract stuff in Iraq doesn't quite smell right.

How about distasteful ads or campaign tactics Did any seem worse than the others to you

Hell, I don't know what went on in the other states. But it would be probably be those robo-push polls. You can't really respond to 'em, they don't have to be based on fact at all—most of it isn't, anyway. They were particularly distasteful.

What would you have done last Wednesday had you lost

I'd be farmin'.

Yeah

Yeah.

What in particular

I'd be looking to haul some grain, looking to haul some lentils, cleanin' out my shop. Christ, there's plenty of stuff to do. Workin' on equipment, changing oil in vehicles. There's a lot of deferred maintenance right now because I've spent the last year and a half doing this, and if anything's suffered, it's been the farm.

Do you think that after this election, it's still appropriate to call Karl Rove a genius

I'm really not much one for labels. I think the guy's got skills; there's no doubt about it.

What was your immediate gut reaction to John Kerry's "botched joke"

Oh, he made a mistake, and I think he probably shouldn't have said it. But I also think it was probably blown out of proportion.

What can the national Democratic Party learn from Montana's now that it's taken the Governor's Mansion and another Senate seat in what was thought to be one of the reddest states in the country

I think it's about energy and leadership. That's what people want to see. They want to see people working hard, working for them. And not being self-interested, but publicly interested.

Implicit in that, though, is that the national Democrats aren't providing that.

Well, you've gotta be in a position to provide leadership. If you're in a minority, it's tough to lead because you don't have any of the chits available, you can't dictate the agenda. You're in a bind. We've been in a minority in the ecutive and legislative houses for the last, what, 10 or 12 years.

Okay, well, did you have a favorite moment on the trail Someone you met that got you particularly energized An event

There were a lot of different times when you meet people and got fired up. I will tell you that if you take a look back at the primary election, that was one of many highlights. We were expected to tie at best, maybe lose, and then winning almost two-to-one—that gets you pumped up.

How much do you attribute that primary victory to the netroots' help

Oh, they definitely play a role in getting information out to people. There's no doubt about it. And they played a role in this campaign. Furthermore, I think—and this is just an observation that I have no scientific basis for—but I think the netroots fire the young people up. If I look back at this election, one of the things that was real positive was the number of young people we had involved, and the number of young people we had fired up, and the number of young people who were truly politically active. I think that's great. That's what this is about. That's why I ran for this office, because I want to make sure in particular that the young folks and the next generation get a fair shake.

It's been said that the netroots sometimes apply an ideological purity test to Democratic politicians. And with some of your more conservative views, you probably don't fit squarely into that. Do you feel in any way beholden or hamstrung to that part of the party

The stuff I read about that they were blogging on—I agreed with some of it, I disagreed with some of it. The bottom line is I think they just wanted representation like everybody else.

How many percentage points do you think your hairstyle swung in your direction

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